Decreased diet-induced thermogenesis in gluteal-femoral obesity

Decreased diet-induced thermogenesis in gluteal-femoral obesity

G. A. Vansant, L. F. Van Gaal and I. H. De Leeuw
University of Antwerp (UIA), Department of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Clinical Nutrition, Belgium.
Resting metabolic rate (RMR) and diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), induced by 100 g glucose given orally, were measured in two groups of obese women, characterized by the abdominal or gluteal-femoral type of obesity. No difference in RMR was found between the two groups. Obese women with an abdominal fat mass distribution have a higher and more prolonged DIT in comparison with gluteal-femoral obese women. This finding may help explain why women with upper body obesity are more able to lose weight than women with lower body obesity.